IKEA 2014- my picks

 

The 2014 IKEA catalogue will be distributed in Greece starting August 28. However, the Swedish and English versions are on-line.

 

 

This is so fun!

Simple and fun.

 

 

This is my favorite room of the catalogue. I love the roomy sofa,its velvety green, the books, ah, of course, and that armchair could certainly find its place in my house! Don't you just love greens in front of the window?

 

 

I like the fireplace nook defined by rugs and the two cushy chairs.

I have this pendant light in our House in the North and I'm considering bringing them over here.

 

 

This room is styled so chic! Worthy of a Carrie walk in closet!

 

 

Dilemas ... I love both these styles. Which one to pick?

 

 

I like this modern flowery rug.

 

 

The yellow rug is so stylish, too.

 

 

All three styles are my cup of tea.

 

Have you received your catalogue, yet?

And the winner is...

Because some things are nicer the old-fashioned way... 

We wrote the names, as many times as you entered them,

We put them in a clear box...

And we had an innocent part draw a name...

 Congratulations, Beth !

 Many-many thanks to all who entered your names! Keep coming for many happy posts. 

 And many thanks to Shabby Apple for the wonderful vintage style dress of Beth's choice!

See you all soon!

Summer Giveaway - Shabby Apple of your choice

Hello Friends,

With vacations, weddings and back-to-school meet ups coming in the following weeks,
 I believe this is the perfect time to put on that very special dress you always wanted. 

You know which one?
The one that fits you and flatters you each and every time!

So if you like vintage style clothing,  Happy Turtle and Shabby Apple, the place to go to for vintage clothing, are happy to offer one lucky lady the dress of her choice! 
How nice of you, Shabby Apple, to let Happy Turtle readers pick the frock of their dreams!
Now you only have to pick the event!

 To pick the vintage style dress of your choice,
visit right here and
enter you name in the comments.

Then head to "Meet me there, too!"
(just under "About Me" on my sidebar),
like me and be my friend,
and leave a comment for one extra entry each!

Giveaway winner will be drawn August 20th!
Hurry!

And

Bonne Chance!

How addictions (even the little ones) interfere in the process of enlightenment

 

Addiction is carried by restlessness and a sense of lacking something or being incomplete. It makes you forgot who you really are, which is the essence of illusion. 

The object of your addiction becomes a fixation of infatuation and fear. Whenever the addiction is threatened, the result is anxiety. Whenever the addiction is indulged, most of the pleasure felt is really just relief from that anxiety the addiction gave rise to.

All of this is further complicated if the addiction involves a chemical component. Eating junk food can become addictive and unhealthy but is not addictive in the way heroin is, for example. Both have the same underlying confusion but require different kinds of help to emerge from it. 

Enlightenment is not far away. It is not somewhere else. It is closer to you than your ego, body, and mind. Essentially, it is you before you were born, you during life, and you after death. Before and after the appearance of the universe, even. 

Addiction is maya, illusion. It obscures this from your view. Taking on a body is itself a kind of addiction or tendency that propels us through multiple births. It is also rooted in confusion. 
Like maya, addiction operates in a cycle. Unchanging cyclic behavior is its own kind of suffering as well. 

Chemical addictions aside, I don’t think you need to “fight" an addiction to overcome it. Bringing your attention thoroughly into the present, into the experience of your actions and how they change over time, and daily practice of meditation to grow out of restlessness will all help tremendously without the need to judge or repress yourself. 

{via here and here}

Royal household in Greece

Greece has long been a favorite among jet setters. In recent months the islands of Mykonos and Santorini have been on the limelightthanks to American celebrities visiting.

Recently, however, the new King and Queen of the Netherlands have purchased a sprawling, secluded villa near the little town of Kranidi in the South of Greece. The 4,000 square-metre estate cost €4.5 million and boasts a swimming pool, private beach and marina for their exclusive use.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and actor Sean Connery are both said to own homes nearby.
The prince had originally built a villa on land bought in Mozambique but sold it earlier this year in response to political criticism of the project. Two years after buying four plots of land on the Machangula peninsula in the south of the country in 2007, Dutch MPs raised objections to his involvement in a larger development project.

The then Crown Prince had fallen in love with the area during the wedding ceremonies for Prince Nicolas of Greece and Tatiana Blatnik, on the island of Spetsai. However he chose for his family the unspoiled mainland.

If you would like to stay in the area, too, there are quite a few villas to choose from.

 

 

 

 

A dreamy resort in the Maldives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful and spicy,

surrounded by the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocean, the superb all-villa Maldives resort offers an unrivalled level of style, choice and personalised exploration. Sleek and spectacular, with unprecedented privacy, One&Only Reethi Rah inspires extraordinary journeys for the soul.

 

 

 

 

Reethi Rah, The Maldives.

He is one of the world's hotest men...and he is Greek

 

 

 

 

...and he likes Paris.

What else can you ask for?

(Interview in English)

 

 

 

Guest posting invitation and coming soon...

Hello, friends, 

 If you are following me on Instagram, you know what I am up to, what I like most, and what i believe is really worth talking about. Flowers, fruit salad and cats, that is ;-)

Yes, that's what matters most, plus family of course, but you know I am not comfortable in posting my kids' faces all over the place. 

What I do like is a good post that eases my soul and rests my mind. A breath of fresh air and beauty. 

Would you like to write one (or more...) post for The Happy Turtle? 

I hope you will! 

Please e-mail me with your post idea at happyturtledeco {at} gmail {dot} com.

Also, I am glad to say that two lovely companies whose products I adore, have offered my readers giveaways! How cool is that? 'Cause you, too, love a good giveaway or two. I know I do!

So, these giveaways will be coming soon, in about a week or so the first 

hint: it's a lovely summery dress of your choice!:

So stay tuned, and keep those guest post e-mails coming!

 

Bliss for the Cambridge clan

A radiant Princess Catherine, in a cornflower blue polka dot dress by British designer Jenny Packham, with simple yet soft and impeccably blow dried hair, cradles her newborn Prince.
What a lovely bundle!

Her family, The Middletons, were the first to visit their daughter Kate Middleton, Prince William and the new addition, described the baby as "absolutely beautiful", with mother Carole adding that the new parents were "doing fabulously".

 

I love Carole Middleton's sensible nude pumps and floaty dress.

 

 

What will the new Prince's name be?

 

I like George and Albert the most :-)

 

Funny thing. At the time both grandparents visited Catherine and William, there were in the same room three future kings: Charles, William and the new Prince. Bliss.

{All images Hello}

“Wonderful baby, a beautiful baby.”

Yes, it is a royal boy, as it should be. 

Congratulations, Katie!

 "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm. The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight". 

Notes to editors
"1. The medical staff present were Mr Marcus Setchell, Surgeon-Gynaecologist, Mr Guy Thorpe-Beeston, Obstetrician and Dr Sunit Godambe, Consultant Neonatologist at St. Mary’s Hospital.
" 2. The names of the baby will be announced in due course
" 3. The baby is third in the line of succession after His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge. He is styled His Royal Highness Prince [name] of Cambridge.
" 4. A formal notice of the birth will be posted on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace."

Great expectations

 

 

Say, Kate, what took you so long?

 

 

Jen, Are you expecting?